Canadian equities continued to trend upward for the third consecutive session, even as slightly higher-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data for August raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve might maintain its current monetary policy stance. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 56 points, or 0.3%, on Wednesday to 20,279, its highest level in a week.
Despite weakness in tech and commodity-linked stocks, renewed buying in other key market sectors like healthcare, consumer non-cyclicals, and utilities helped the TSX benchmark end the session in green.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
North West Company (TSX:NWC) rallied by 14.7% yesterday to $34.65 per share after the release of its stronger-than-expected quarterly results. In the second quarter of its fiscal year 2024 (ended in July), the Winnipeg-headquartered retail company’s sales climbed by 6.8% from a year ago to $618.1 million due mainly to higher inflation and foreign exchange tailwinds.
Moreover, North West reported a solid 18.8% year-over-year jump in its adjusted earnings to $0.82 per share, beating Street analysts’ expectations of $0.70 per share by a wide margin. Despite this rally, however, NWC stock is still down 2.6% year to date.
Dollarama, Energy Fuels, and NexGen Energy were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the last session, as they inched up by more than 5% each.
Conversely, Birchcliff Energy, Dundee Precious Metals, Parex Resources, and Magna International slid by at least 4.2% each, making them the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume data, Enbridge, TC Energy, Suncor Energy, and Toronto-Dominion Bank were the most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Oil, gas, and base metals prices were trading on a bullish note early Thursday morning, but precious metals continued to tank. That’s why I expect the main TSX index to remain slightly positive at the open today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep a close eye on the latest monthly producer price index, retail sales, and weekly jobless claims data from the United States this morning. If the U.S. wholesale inflation also comes out hotter than expected today, just like the recently released consumer inflation, it could lead to further weakness in tech stocks.
On the corporate events side, the TSX-listed Empire Company is expected to announce its latest quarterly result on September 14.
Market movers on the TSX today
